Don't let anything spoil your enjoyment during the Warriors-Clippers playoff series, especially the daunting lessons of history, but it's worth noting: Teams without a center, or those relying on a rather slight fellow to lead the way, generally don't fare so well.

It's as if the Warriors are doomed to "play small" this time of year, although the first round tends to be spectacularly fun. That '87 team upset the Utah Jazz of Karl Maloneand John Stockton; Don Nelson's teams knocked off Utah ('89), San Antonio ('91) and Dallas ('07) in glorious fashion, and the Denver Nuggets went down last year.

As for the issue of "me against the world," as some critics are characterizing the Warriors' chances with Stephen Curry, it never ends well. Only once in NBA history has a defying-the-odds guard carried the weight of his team's performance into the Finals, and that was Allen Iversonon the Philadelphia 76ers of 2001 (losing to the Lakers in five games).

Curry has a bit more help than Iverson did, but it's not such an inappropriate comparison. In moments of crisis against the Clippers, it will be all up to Curry. Grantland.com's Zach Lowe- who has an MVP ballot and lists him No. 3 - describes Curry's Warriors as "our offense dies without me."

Stop the show

Los Angeles has become the Clippers' town, at the expense of the pitiful Lakers, and Staples Center really comes alive when Blake Griffinor DeAndre Jordanthrows down one of those awe-inspiring dunks, either in transition or on halfcourt alley-oops. Hard to imagine the Warriors shutting that down over the course of an entire game ... Coach Doc Rivers has done wonders for Jordan's confidence, leaving him in games even though his free-throw shooting is a joke. Will the Warriors "hack" Jordan without mercy, even when he doesn't have the ball? Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Such tactics slow games to an unwatchable crawl ... Griffin, meanwhile, is going to miss some very important free throws with that stiff-as-a-board release ... An argument that never made sense: The Warriors often start slowly because Mark Jacksondoesn't have them properly motivated. For heaven's sake, have some pride. There's no excuse for an athlete's nonchalance, not when it's his profession and so many people are watching. The coach shouldn't have anything to do with it, except on select occasions when his rising voice demands attention ... As for strategic preparation, that's another matter ... Rivers led the Clippers to a franchise-record 57 wins despite a load of injuries. Saturday's starting lineup - Griffin, Jordan, Chris Paul, Matt Barnesand J.J. Redick- has been used only four times all season ... Curry's left-handed passes can be a thing of beauty, but not always. This was Comcast's Jim Barnettin Portland on Sunday night after Curry had a crosscourt pass intercepted: "It's not so much the one hand - it's the looping one hand, which telegraphs it."

Better yet, Brandon

With three Brandons on the Giants - Crawford, Belt and Hicks - it's been amusing to read the "Brandon and Brandon" entries on mlblogs.com. This from Hunter Pence, subbing one day for co-authors Crawford and Belt: "You probably didn't know this, but Hunter is a nickname for Brandon. My middle name is Andrew, which is Swedish for Brandon. And Pence is English for Brandon. So my actual name is Brandon Brandon Brandon. You also probably didn't know that "Tim Lincecum" is Dutch for Brandon." ... The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost eight straight home games and 11 of 12 this season, calling for desperate measures at Chase Field. "I don't know what it will take - an exorcism or something," said pitcher Brandon McCarthy. How morbidly fitting, then, that the club's next home game falls on its "Zombie Night" promotion. No joke; fans will be invited to participate in a "zombie walk," whatever that is, on the field before the April 25 game ... Much, much cooler: the Duane Kuiperbobblehead (given away next Friday at AT&T Park) has him wearing a Cleveland uniform - and the Indians are in town that night. Kuiper hit his only big-league homer with Cleveland (off Steve Stone in 1977), and he hit .283 over a full season in '78, while playing an acrobatic second base. "Kuip knew how to play the game," said former teammate Rick Manning. "He was a great second baseman, as tough as you could get for a guy 175 pounds." ... As usual with bobbleheads, the face bears absolutely no resemblance to Kuiper's. It does look more like Kuiper than the late Eleanor Roosevelt, however, which is nice ... Final take on Warriors-Clippers, from Griffin's recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine: "There have been several games where I just had the worst gas. Against the Knicks my rookie year, one of my teammates was shooting a free throw and I couldn't help myself. A guy on the Knicks went, 'Oh my gosh,' and covered his nose, so I had to act like it wasn't me. Like, 'Oh, man, who was that?' I'm sorry, but I did what I had to do."